The Bucket List
by Secretly a Duck
Summary: Anna's crazy, Kristoff concludes. Swim with dolphins? Catch stars? Scream on top of the Eiffel Tower? But there's something she crosses out on her list—falling in love. But as fate twists their lives into a tangled mess together, they find that home lies closer than they'd think. A story of travel, trust, and love found in the most unimaginable places possible. Kristanna!Modern AU
1. Chapter 1: Launch into Adventure

**aye, lovely readers! so here we go again; another kristanna fic because tbh i really couldn't get this one out of my head! this could be a short series, i don't know how many chapters i could make for now... but if this story is a success, i'll make a longer series entitled How To Court Your Lovesick Girlfriend. which basically revolves around our lovely dorks relationship in a modern au. it may be a sequel to this, but can stand alone.**

**this'll contain lots of sightseeing's and travel, and of course, love! anywho, enjoy the read! **

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Kristoff jerked his head up to the harsh blaring of car honking invading his room, its sound resounding that made him snap right out of his sweet dreams. The world around him spun a little, eyes darting before settling over the little window across his room, vision focusing. An electric blue Mercedes was parked just in front of his porch. He felt the side of his lips twitch up slightly to the sight of a ginger with two pigtails braided elaborately with a pink Panda printed shirt waving at him from the backseat. Her porcelain doll face was painted with the lightest make-up that made her freckles radiant under the sun, that with or without it, he knew she would still be beautiful.

"Kristoff!" she called, smile so wide the freckles on her cheeks rose up beneath her eyes. Anna.

Just before he could groggily drag an arm up to wave back, the front seats window rolled down.

"Hey!" Elsa, Anna's older sister, called for him in a bland voice, a bored expression written over her face. Her platinum hair was at its usual state, tied in a haphazard side-braid with her bangs thrown in the back of her head, wearing a faded rock band shirt he's never heard of obviously thrown on in hurry unlike her excitable, fussy sister. Who was obviously dressed for the whole occasion. "You better get your butt down here if you don't want to miss your flight! _Or_ reschedule it!"

Kristoff's eyes suddenly widened as saucers before cursing beneath his breath,—"_Shit_."

Almost immediately, he swung his legs to the side of the bed and was up to his feet, covers thrown off as he bolted towards the bathroom in pure haste. He hadn't officially seen the time, but with the chirping birds, sun burning, Anna and Elsa at his doorstep, it was no doubt that he had overslept and was becoming the delay of their occasion.

Facing the mirror, he saw the usual 5'oclock shadow meaning to be shaved across his jaw, brown eyes still caked with sleep, hair golden as hay and just as disarray as it always was. He would've shaved, or at least brushed his hair into a meaningful sway, but he didn't have the time. He didn't even have the time to look at the time! He had to be practical.

So he closed his eyes and splashed his face with the cool water, thinking of how cute Anna looked in her Panda patterned shirt.

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"I'm going to miss you!" Elsa murmured as she peppered Anna's cheek with kisses, arms squeezed tight around her baby sister that made the ginger barely catch her breath. Kristoff watched by the distance with their baggage, unsure of where to look as he scratches the back of his head with a free hand. The airport was buzzing with life, others waving formal goodbyes to their own relatives, other throwing themselves on each other, other bawling, making him think that the airport has always been an interesting place. Where regretful goodbyes were said and genuine proclamations of love were made.

"Elsa!" Anna laughed, finally pulling away to look up her loving sister. "The trip is only for two weeks, we'll be back before you can say snowman."

"Snowman," Elsa pouted sadly, brushing a stray lock of bangs from Anna's face.

"I'll call you everyday and I'll send pictures, I promise," she reassured, holding her bony shoulders and squeezing. The platinum blonde turned to Kristoff with that.

"And you," she pointed a threatening finger at Kristoff. He stood upright almost immediately. "Don't you dare ditch Anna, or leave her, or even _think_ of making her cry. I swear if you do I will find you and I will make sure you won't live to see the day you meet your grandchildren."

He swallowed. Putting up his hands in her accusation before letting them drop to his sides as he said, "Wasn't planning on grandchildren anyway."

Anna giggled in laughter as she slipped a soothing hand over Elsa's. "Elsa, he's no Hans. You know that," she looked down on her flowered doll shoes as she remembered her cheating ex, evoking all the bad memories over the past summer. Her sister immediately changes the subject.

"Hey, hey!" she cracked a smile, hoping to see her sister's pearly whites, too. "I promise, if the company gives me permission to leave in the next holiday we're going to see sights too, alright?" She looked over her shoulder to the blonde. "You can tag along again, if you want. If this trip with her doesn't traumatize you yet."

Kristoff smiled and barked out a laugh when Anna nudged Elsa roughly in the rib with her elbow.

After a few more exchanges of warm hugs with Anna refusing she'll miss Elsa in two weeks, the two-rag tag team of mischief made their way through the airport until they were perfectly sated at the wing of the airplane.

Anna jumped up and down on her seat next to the window since she's convinced him he'd just sleep through the whole trip and she'd rather see the world above more than anything, the seatbelt proving worthless in her bubbliness.

Kristoff's heart leapt. A trip? To Europe? With Anna? It was like a dream. All he could do was dig his fist up his cheek as he rests his elbow on the armrest of his seat, watching passenger after passenger pour into the plane. One eyebrow shoots up when he turned back to Anna to see her eyes fixed intently at a small heart shaped notebook, lips pouted, eyebrows creased with concentration. The sight of her being so adorable without even trying put a smile on his lips.

"What's that?" he asked finally once he had his fill of amusement watching her idly like this for the past minute.

"My bucket list," she replied without bothering to look up at him while twirling a pink pen in one hand, the other clutching the notebook gingerly on her lap.

His eyebrow shot higher just when it thought it couldn't, forehead folding. "A bucket list?"

"A bucket list. _My_ bucket list to be exact," she finally turned her head to scrunch her nose up to him playfully.

"And why exactly would you write up your own bucket list?" he asked, growing amused. "Isn't that a list people write of what they'd like to do before they die?"

Anna suddenly shut the small notebook, its abrupt sound making Kristoff wince a little. Her face once stern with tension suddenly melted into an affectionate gaze, teal eyes swimming with hope.

"Yeah, it is. And I've always wanted to do so many!" she clasped her hands together dreamily. "It may sound silly, or a bit overboard but I've always wanted to backpack through Europe, sleep under the stars, try out a whole platter of chocolates of all kinds, roll in daisies, paint wall streets without getting caught, and, and—" her hands were gestured all over the place, her eyes rolling all around and shoulders sagging and tensing as she spoke.

_She's so cute_, he thought. Beautiful even.

He liked her like this, not bounded and free. He was clearly aware of what fiasco broke out with what happened to her last relationship over the summer. A normal evening, him ideally strumming on his lute when she knocked ferociously at his apartment door and bursting in once he had opened it with a look of bewilderment he was surely plastered on his face at that time. He helped her when she limped over to the couch and sobbed in his chest, telling the story of how her fragile heart had took the blow of learning that her two month boyfriend, Hans, had cheated at her in broad daylight.

Making out with a model in the local coffee shop? He was sure he was after fame. He always was. Not only because Kristoff's always hated Mr. Needle nose, but because he could see the maliciousness in his eyes and that fake thin smile he wears when Anna is around, and lets it drop the second she turns away. His guts always told him he was using her, and he was right.

He should've done something, something to calm her that night. The night he knew she was free from Hans, the moment he should've made her his. But as he moved to say his proclamation of love or be tempted to kiss her lips, she tore away from his chest and said, "I'm done."

She caved in. Guarded her heart and built a wall. And though he was the closest friend she had, him having Sven as the next, he couldn't deny that he was always captivated by Anna.

Anna.

The first person who considered him as a friend he's met when he worked at the local music shop a week before he got fired, Anna immediately calling him up to make him feel good. A simple gesture, a kind invitation, made all the difference. The only person who'd never beat him, curse him, or cheat him. The only person that didn't think of what others thought, that even though she was sort of a rockstar at school with all the gigs she gets, she'd rather and always want his company.

Though in society he was accepted as an introvert, his heart and stoic expression he wears in the public melts into a smile and warmth the moment he's with Anna. The only person that's chosen _him_ above _anyone_ she could take on this trip, other than her non-optional sister. His heart fluttered at the thought of her choosing him and him alone.

But it breaks his heart that she's shut herself out of love. And with that, he shut his mouth. And knew that she needed time to heal, time to grow, time to rebuild herself again before opening her heart to someone again.

He could only wish that that someone was him.

"Here," she thrust up the small notebook up his chest. "You can flip through the pages and see for yourself. I can't say it all with just words, you know," she smiles up at him. "I was hoping to finish half of it while on tour. Seems plausible, yes, I hope?"

He does what he's told, snapping out of the mild flashback replaying in his head. The image of Anna fiercely crying on his chest was waved away, a quick wish made in his heart that he doesn't want to see her like that again. Never wanting to see her cry again.

He gives her a shrug before leafing through the pages, he reads the entries as fast as he could with the papers phase, hoping to give her his opinion of her last question if he finished fast enough.

Some were old, some seemed new. Some were scribbled hastily, some were written delicately. There were cute little doily hearts and sketches that popped every now and then, and now he couldn't seem to wipe off the grin on his face as he watched it flew by.

_Dance in the rain, Sing in front of a random crowd, Get a random kiss from a little boy, Make flower crowns, Run around town looking silly, Visit Disneyland—_

There was one little entry he could not simply bring himself to ignore. He ran his finger against it, her writing a simple art of caricature with many loops that her curved handwriting implied that it was written slowly, delicately. As if she had written it with a part of her heart itself. He was fascinated by it, and at the same time, scared.

_Fall in love. _

Too bad she crossed it out of the list.

He closed the notebook before his head could wrap around the fact of it, that she still wasn't ready. She needed more time… to heal, to mend her heart. But he was there. He could end all her suffering with a single touch of his lips to hers and he would come undone, but he's not sure if she will, too.

He looks up to find her sniffling and tears slowly collecting in her eyes, pooling beneath her thick lashes.

"Anna?" he spills her name suddenly with question, her emotions gone haywire the second he turns away from her, with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face as she taps on her phone and puts it against her ear. His heart sinks for a scant second, wondering what turmoil of emotions she was going through—excitement, fear, longing. All packed in one.

"_Hello_?" he hears Elsa on the other line.

A tear rolls down her cheek before she flashes Kristoff a sad smile.

"_I miss you."_

He swallowed. This was going to be a _long_ trip.

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**short first chap, but how was it? i hope you all stick with me while on this short fic! don't forget to leave a follow/fave/review! it means so much!**


	2. Chapter 2: Photo War

**second chapter bros! gah, this one is longer than i thought it would be... but i hope you all like it and that it doesnt bore you! haha! enjoy!**

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"Come on, come on!" Anna exhilarated as she tugged on Kristoff's tense arm, the burly man trying to keep his stance strong but failing as he stumbled after her.

"Anna," he sighed, shaking his head as he got jerked by the little ginger in an adrenaline rush. He was still a little groggy from the nap he took back on the plane, and suddenly getting launched into a whole new country right after he snapped his eyes open was something he needed to adjust to. The humid air, the alien accents, and the putrid scent of strong coffee that seemed to waft through the air wherever they went is a bit alienating. And in the sea of jostling people they've passed through at the airport was a quick reminder that this wasn't home anymore. They were in fact far, far away from home.

It made his stomach clench into knots after knots of homesickness.

One thing he was glad about was that the hotel they've booked in had a personal driver to pick them up, who waved at them at the airport and drove them to the hotel approximately 20 minutes (not like he was counting) with the ancient buildings and foreign people they've passed outside the cab in a blur. When they reached the hotel, Kristoff immediately collapsed on top of his bed, wanting nothing more but to resume his disrupted slumber way back at New York. And when he barely had a second to shut his eyes, Anna came barging in on him on a completely new "tourist outfit" or so she says, thrilled that they could wander around Paris at the very first day.

The first day of the trip didn't really consist of immediate tours, so they were free to go wherever they wanted to. Or stay in the hotel and keep things cool.

But Kristoff made it clear he didn't want to get his butt off the bed he was sated at.

After Anna's few attempts of getting him on his feet (smothering him with a pillow and a failed attempt to drag his feet off the bed), she finally won him over by looking up at him with googly eyes she famously calls as—The Puppy Pout. A secret weapon she's learned to use on him over the years. Pouted lips, crinkled eyebrows, and batted eyelashes added for dramatic effect.

And of course, like all the other times she's used it on him, he couldn't say no.

So he just rolled on his back and threw an arm over his face before releasing a guttural sigh of defeat that Anna immediately squealed a cry of success in response.

After throwing on a faded Football tee ever so recklessly and getting dragged out by the arm (and partly persuaded by her puppy eyes), they made their way through Paris, squandering in local shops and mini cafes that mesmerized Kristoff how ever so bubbly Anna was even in a blisteringly hot day. Her lime green sundress stuck on her back, sticky with sweat and her bangs was a mop on top of her same clammy forehead. And still, she still seemed to look like all the other deep tanned tourists snapping pictures everywhere they went, well, only more jittery than the rest.

Anna's already bought Elsa souvenirs, a stylish purse, a cute hairclip, and finally thinking her mountain of gifts would finally suffice when she added a _'My sister went to Paris and all she bought me was a lousy keychain' _engraved keychain that made her laugh out loud in the store when she read it, earning a respectable number of glares from the tourists inside the shop. She knew she just _had_ to buy it for Elsa.

She's even made Kristoff swear that he wouldn't tell Elsa anything about it. Which he did doubt he'd actually be telling, since he's never even sent a normal SMS to her sister before hesitating if she actually hated him for being so close to Anna or if she was the same social butterfly as he was. And when the sun rose at its peak they had lunch at a local sandwich shop, Kristoff full with his platter of sub sandwiches and Anna bloated with the platter of assorted chocolates she bought somewhere nearby too.

But there was something that Kristoff couldn't shake off his chest, it was the fact that in every minute of their stops Anna would stop to swoon over couples and spill out how fortunate they were to be staying in in the world famous City of Love.

He swallowed at the thought of it.

Love.

She's broken, right? Then why would she want this? Why here? With him of all people? He must've been losing his mind and he secretly wished Sven was here to bark at him to snap him out of his daydreams.

He would steal sideway glances from her, how much he's observed how guarded she is. Yes, she laughs, throws her head back when she has a little too much fun on her own inside jokes, eyes bright when she sees fun sights she's seen before in movies or magazines or how she practically jumped up and down when she mistook one of the random tourists as Angelina Jolie. But there was something to it, in the middle of her laugh he would notice how her eyebrows would perk up for the faintest second before she dissolves back into her usual smile, clearing her throat or awkwardly nodding at whatever he was commenting about now and how limited her touches were.

Though it felt like a slap in the face, what bothered him most were her eyes. They were bright, yes, but there was something deeper to it. Her eyes were an alloy, a pool of blue, that would some times stretch into gossamer in all its innocence. But the crinkle in the corner her of her eyes and the flutter of her thick lashes proved it wrong, she was hiding something. Guarding it, as if her life depended on it. She's done such a good job masking it over the summer, but he sees the pain resurface with the simple reminder that: They were in the city of love.

Alone.

Just the two of them.

And Kristoff felt a little guilty about it.

Of course, Anna would only like to visit the ever famous City of Love with the man she's going to spend her life with, right? But maybe he's just invited for the fun of it, like a reward. For being a great friend, for being there when she needed him, for having someone to bicker with, for having someone to snort and laugh with without getting judged, for having an escape on Sundays after band practice, for being the only person close enough to hear her deepest secrets, raw and true beneath the stars between coffee under a shabby condominium in New York on late nights.

He deemed it one day, she would be here, in the crooked streets of Paris greeted by streetlamps in everywhere she went, a huge smile on her face that never wore out, hair copper as ever, but it wouldn't be him she would be dragging. He had imagined the man she would marry as someone more princely than he, gallant and buoyant with pronouncing his love for all of Paris to hear. Like Hans, without the cheating part of course. And he imagines a silhouette of a man kissing Anna beneath the Eiffel Tower with sparks flying everywhere. And he knew it would never be him.

It made his stomach lurch before dropping in an endless pit in his stomach. He waves the thought away with a animalistic shake of his head.

"Kristoff!"

He jerked his head up to the calling, broken off from his mild stupor. He didn't even notice that she's peeled away from his arm, and now, they were suddenly at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. He squints his eyes and strains his neck to look up, the top of the tower seemingly touching the blue skies.

He looks back just in time to see her fish out her phone from her purse.

"Kristoff!" she smiled widely at him, stretching the arm with the phone and excitedly dangling it in his face. "Snap me a picture next to the Eiffel Tower so I can show it to Elsa ASAP!" her smile only grew wider when he obliged with a simple nod, taking the phone from her wiggling arms and took a step back, which proved to be useless since she's already ran straight a few meters from him before striking a dramatic pose.

He sighed, masking a dorky chuckle with a cough as he snapped the picture when the suns rays illuminated behind her.

_Snap_!

"Another!" she called, startling a few tourists that were taking pictures of their own.

_Snap! Snap!_

Before the pictures could even process, she's already ran her way back to Kristoff, head bobbing in anticipation and leaned in close to his chest, smile still nailed on her face. "Let me see! Let me see!"

A warm smile was blooming over his face now as he watched her, and in an instant all his worries seemed to flush away. He was still concerned about her, scared even, but knew she would come at her own time. So he tore his gaze away from her as she chattered something about how Elsa would be so jealous of her, but he didn't hear her words. It was her voice that sang a melody to him, eyes trained on the top of the tower, hands in his pockets, sun hot on his cheeks.

_Snap_!

Suddenly his head jerked back to her, slightly baffled. A mischievous grin spread across her lips as she laughed, phone in hand. He knew exactly what she had done.

"Hey!" he frowned, one eyebrow shooting up at her skeptically. "Please don't tell me that you just…"

"Okay, okay," she waved an apologetic hand over her face, laughter dying down before she looked up to meet his gaze again. "I know you're not the most photogenic person, and that your Facebook display picture is Sven instead of your actual face, but hey! Look!" she flashed the phone in his face. "You look _really_ attractive here!"—His heart skipped a beat—"Well, a bit emo because you're looking out of the field instead of a normal human being that smiles at the camera but hey, you look really good!"

He felt a blush spread like wildfire on his cheeks, but he manages to mask it as he guffaws at the idea. "Okay, you got me. Now what are you going to do about it?"

"It'll put a check on my bucket list," she snickered as she took out the small cramped notebook out of her purse and flipped through the pages.

"Wait," his eyes widened. "W-What? You put me in your bucket list?"

Looking at him through her lashes, she suddenly feels small and embarrassed. "Well, um, yeah. I kind of want to have lots of pictures on this trip… including pictures of you and me. But I know how uncomfortable you are when a camera strikes up your face. But this is a once in a lifetime experience. And we're in Europe for goodness sake! Please? Can we just enjoy this? You know, together if that's not too much to ask…"

A quick flashback sends him back with her words, how in most of his pictures with his adopted family left him with a frown or a thin line of a smile. He was once caught laughing in a photo, taken by Elsa herself when he laughed at Anna when she made a goofy face in attempt to make him smile for the camera. And it did, and he slightly cursed the moment that he was caught off guard. But now it was different. Anna was asking him to take pictures with her on this trip. With _her_. And for the slightest moment all his nerves sang a million yeses, his heart flutters and his head feels light and he needed to clear his throat to seem casual and nonchalant about it.

"No," his words caught her attention, finally looking up from the phone she was fiddling for the past minute. "It's not too much to ask. It's okay. As long as it's not selfies, it's tolerable."

She beamed.

Right before she could ask a random passerby to take their picture, she hears a snap from his own phone.

"Hey!" she frowned, smile melting away in the heat of the sun. He dangles the picture of her on his phone, smile a little too wide and her nose looked misplaced in a blur.

"Hah," Kristoff smiled teasingly, dangling the phone in her face. "Just because I agreed to actually have pictures on this trip doesn't mean I can't have a little fun. Also, it's mean to take pictures of people without them knowing, okay?"

"So why did you take a picture of me _without_ knowing?"

"Revenge," his smile only grew wider. Without retreating or forgiveness, she clicked the camera of her phone and accepted the challenge. A photo war is ensued.

Anna chased after Kristoff off into the foot of the tower, trying to get all the less pleasant parts he liked of his face. She got a close up of his nose that made him look like a cartoon character that came into life, and another picture looked like he was a banshee screaming when she got lucky enough to direct the phone right up his nose.

She laughed at her collection of photos stopping to curl and sling an arm over her now slowly growing stomach pain from laughter, the rest a blur, and began to run when he raged toward her, also laughing at their silliness. Most of the people around them were already eyeing them unpleasantly and it was only a matter of time before some guard came to halt them from their childish antics, but they were having too much fun to care.

After ducking under an ice cream cart, running across the field and jumping over couples having picnics, he tackles her to the ground, phone still in hand and they roll in the grass still laughing their heads off without a care. He pins her to the ground and she struggles out of his grasps but fails, and he starts taking pictures of her one after another, his phone creating a snapping vibrancy in the air as they continued laughed.

Finally, when his phone beeped and warns him that its memory is half filled in less than a minute, he stops to look at her beneath him, completely enveloped by his shadow with a few traces of light peaking behind him hitting parts of her face, his arms either side of her head as he tries to catch his breath.

But the view of her was intoxicating.

Her hair was a mess, tendrils escaping from her braid still mopped with sweat. Her cheeks were radiant under the sun, dress soiled on the ground. Her smile, wide with laughter a minute earlier softens as she looks up to meet his gaze, and he almost mistakes that look of content with a look laced with _love_.

But at the moment, he knows he has wrecked the walls she's built for so long. It all fell with a single tumble down the grass. And everything about the moment was infectious, the honesty and serenity of it all was almost touching.

The world around them stills for a moment, the birds around them sang and the people continued to chatter oblivious of the two young adults in one corner of the field looking like they're reenacting a scene right out of a chic flick movie. But it was more than that. It was better.

He had to fight the urge to run his fingers over her skin, her neck, up to her cheek and idly thumb over her now crimson skin. He had to stop himself from burying his nose into the crook of her neck and get lost in the scent of lavender in her hair. He had to fight back the need to lean over and press his lips to hers, to finish off and to end the need he's been feeling all the while.

But he doesn't.

He gets ahold of what was happening and sits up immediately, free hand finding the back of his neck rubbing awkwardly when he regained his composure. Still shaken with the their momentous actions. But now his head was swamped with worry, that his body odor from their sprint was bothering her, or if he had gone too far, or if she didn't even like what they had done and he just—"Sorry," he mumbled shyly, suddenly unable to meet her gaze. "I didn't mean for it to go like this…"

He feels her shift next to him. "No, it's okay," her hand touched his shoulder, sending a jolt of fuzziness run across his body, waking him with a burn. "It was fun. We should do that more often."

And with her words, the whole world is gone for a second, and he looks back at her, eyes soft with a warm smile spreading across his lips. He wanders for a scant second if she could hear his heart thunder against his chest. He lolls his head to the side, her mirrored smile reassuring him that the glares and thoughts of other people around them didn't matter. It didn't matter if they thought that they were a silly couple, young and in love because in truth, he didn't know if they were, either.

And he wished they were.

Finally, after a minute or two of drowning in each other's gaze, Anna jumps up on her feet with a shake of her head the blush still intact, brushing the dirt off her skirt before stretching a hand; a peace offering after their little proclaimed war. He smiled as he took it. It was a truce.

"Okay," she giggled as he dusts the mud off his jeans. "Next, we need a _real_ picture together. Next to the Eiffel Tower. Elsa and Sven would love to see it, I just know it!"

He gave her a little shrug he guessed she didn't even see since she's turned her back on him to find a random passerby to take their picture. And while she does, he scrolls on his phone absently, still miraculously intact on his hand the whole while.

There was a picture of her running that made her look like she broke her back, a blurred picture where she had two heads, and another one with her eyes blazing red from the radiance of the sun.

But one picture catches his attention, the last one in the album. It was her, lying on her back, flowers in her hair, the moment he had pinned her to the ground and he chuckles in relief that it's not blurred at all. Her smile was genuine and the freckles she says she hates that bombarded her skin like sprinkles made her look like a work of art. He couldn't stop smiling knowing that he had a rare treasure no one else would ever have, and his heart leaps out his chest feeling like the luckiest man living on the face of the earth.

She was beautiful.

When Anna came back, hauling some other tourist by the wrist and shoving her camera up her hand, she wrung her arms around Kristoff's and smiled as the camera took aim at their faces. Their posing made a blush creep its way up Kristoff's neck, but forced back a tight smile for the camera. He felt her stiff against his touch, probably rebuilding the wall that guarded her heart. But this time, he wouldn't let her.

He was going to make things work this time, he decided.

And when Anna peeled away from him showering the tourist of her gratefulness, Kristoff was left at the foot of the tower mind in a haze at war with himself if he should make the rare picture of Anna his next wallpaper before she came back to drag him off someplace again.

He began to hesitate when he heard her steps trot back to him, and with a shake of his hand and a tap on clear screen he's made up his mind.

He does.

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**reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Summer's Tale

**alright! new chapter! took me some time to finish this because it was our exam week last week, and now i'm back writing and updating fics! also, special thank you to blossomjaj988 and EveBelle18 for proofreading this chapter, it means so much!**

**enjoy the read!**

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The first time Kristoff caught himself very, very close to kissing Anna was at 4:37 pm beneath the Eiffel Tower on a hot summer's day.

He didn't, though. But he was also rewarded with a good gift, the treasure of the picture of her with flowers in her hair and a summer smile bright on her face that's now secretly his wallpaper (he still hasn't built up the courage to tell her about it).

It's been three days since then, and he's okay with it.

Maybe.

Kristoff collapsed on the end of his bed (the other side piled up with dirty clothing and souvenirs he was forced to buy), rolling on his back as he already felt the Sandman slip sleep dusts in his eyes. He doesn't care if he reeks of the hot day's sun leaving a burnt smell on his shirt, or if he's still wearing his dirt smudged sneakers, all he wanted to do was rest after taking an exceptionally long tour within the limit of Paris.

And just when he is a beat close to falling into a deep sleep, the door of his hotel room bursts open.

"Kristoff!" the intruder erupts excitedly.

He groaned.

Rolling on his back, he grabbed the pillow across him absently and dug his face in it, trying best efforts to drown out Anna's excited squeals. He feels her sit next to him on the bed, two petite hands violently shaking his knotted shoulders with anticipation.

"Kristoff! Let's go out!" she practically yelled into his ear.

"But we just _got_ out," he moaned, his body languidly flat on the bed. It makes him wonder where she gets all the energy after walking miles after miles of exhibits in a day. "Let's stay _in_."

"But I read an article in a magazine saying that Paris is even more beautiful at night!" He could hear the pout in her voice, yet he still refused to look up those glassy eyes of blue because he knew there would be a very strong reason for him to get up on his feet. This time, he was putting his foot down. He dug his face deeper into the pillow. "Come on! Please!"

"Anna," he sighed rolling on his side and throwing an arm over his face still refusing to look at her. "It's night. We just visited four museums and a cathedral that I'm not actually sure of what I've stared at for the last four hours, and I'm stumped. Can we please call it a day?"

There's a brief moment of silence between them, and just before Kristoff can let out a sigh of relief thinking he's convinced her, she speaks again. "…but I really wanted to see Paris at night…"

_Oh no_, Kristoff thought dreadfully. A strong pull on his gut urges him to take a peek from under his arm after hearing the sadness in her tone. He does.

He was right. She was staring at him with her forget-me-not eyes, blue and glassy with pouted lips. He wanted to punch himself for falling for her trap. _Again_.

He threw the pillow to the far side of his hotel bed and let out a breathy sigh. "If we go out tonight and do—well, whatever, can we at least miss out on one of the tours tomorrow?"

"What are we seeing for tomorrow anyway?"

"More museums," he moaned. "Sure, it could be a waste of money for letting one of the tours slip but… you're asking for us to hang out the whole night, of course we need to get some sleep by morning at the most. Maybe we could catch up on the tour by noon."

"True," Anna nodded sympathetically at his statement, one thin finger circling her chin, looking keen as she did before her eyes snapped wide. "Wait, so you're agreeing on this?!"

"As long as I get enough sleep after."

She laughs this time.

"Of course, Sleeping Beauty," she rolls her eyes at her own joke. Her pout is now stretched into a smile, unable to mask her excitement. "Now get up and get dressed while the night is still young."

"Aye aye, Captain."

She smacks him in the chest and he laughs as he gets himself dragged out of bed by her small hands.

* * *

Anna's right. Paris is gorgeous at night.

Dusk has settled over the town yet it still buzzed with life. Streetlamps have come to life, stores flickering their neon signs on, the crowd of people not dwindling a bit in the dark except for the streets barely busy with the small number of vehicles passing by.

Kristoff mindlessly threw in a football shirt he used to own back in highschool, still the same dirt smudged sneakers, a beanie, and a rugged jacket he was able to grab at the last minute before Anna had hauled him away from the doorframe of his room. He might get stopped and given a ticket by a passing fashion police, but he was too comfortably warm in his outfit to care. It's not like he ever cared about looks and fashion anyway.

Anna on the other hand seemed too, though. She looked in tandem with the summer weather, rocking a thin loose shirt with flower patterns at the ends of it, skinny jeans that hugged the curves of her legs nicely and doll shoes too cute for her small feet.

She looked nice, but he could clearly see a problem: She's cold.

Sure, he never thought Paris at night would be this cold. It was definitely freezing out now that the sun has dipped beneath the buildings taking its sultriness with it, and he was glad he grabbed the jacket hanging at the rack of his hotel room and he's positive that she's regretting how she didn't grab one of her own.

They've trudged downtown, stopped at shoe shops and clothes shop, took a brief moment to admire the Eiffel Tower as its lights set fire to the night, dropped by even _more_ souvenir shops, and finally, they unwind in a mini ice cream shop they've randomly stumbled at the artful streets.

"Are you sure you want some?" he asks, eyeing her worriedly. She looks up at him, arms wrapped around her trembling self, knuckles white, cheeks visibly crimson in the dark. Still, she manages to flash a smile.

"Of course!" she brimmed, arms instantly dropping to her sides. She tapped a finger to her lips as her eyes squinted at the menu, obviously hiding her aggravating chagrin. She waves her mild problem away as if nothing. "Hm, what about chocolate?"

"You always order chocolate."

"But its Parisian chocolate," she winked before placing her order. "One chocolate, please?"

He sighed. It wasn't helping her state.

Right after she tipped the ice cream man and turned back to him in sheer second, she flicked her tongue to her dessert before asking, "You really don't want any?"

"No, I'm good. Don't want to freeze to death unlike some people."

She rolled her eyes and again, they were off.

Kristoff was in pure torture watching her like this. He couldn't overlook her tiny body's involuntary shake in the dark, worse than before now that she's eating her sweet confection he'd like to call better as suicide. After what seemed like two minutes of being at war with him self, he ended his mental debate by mustering up the courage to shrug his jacket off and wrap it around her and try to seem nonchalant about it.

But before he could even move his hands up to unbutton his jacket, she calls him in a high-pitched squeal that immediately catches his attention. "Oh! Kristoff! Look!"

"H-Huh?" he asked, unknowingly. "What now?"

"I think they're having a play," she points her free hand to a dimly lit park across the street, eerie trees obscuring the place. At the end of it was a small stage enough for them to see the actors animating from afar, wherein a crowd started to materialize, slowly being drawn to the bongo drums beat and guitar strum in the night air. She grabs his wrists excitedly. "Let's go check it out!"

Before he could bark out protests that it's late, it's freezing out, or that he's certain that they're lost, out of cash and that—_she's freezing_, he finds himself at the foot of the stage, her by his side swinging from foot to foot feverishly cheering for the actors.

There's a banner on top of the stage where calibrated words say _A Winter's Tale_ _by Shakespeare, a play_, and there are flyers at their feet, people huddling together to keep warm. It makes him wonder why on earth people would hang out this late to watch a mini stage play, but he realizes it's free. And he thinks it's enough reason for them to come along, unlike the plays like _Hamlet_ and _Twelfth Night_ being shown in the big theatres downtown.

They're just in time to finish watching the first act, Camillo and Polixenes have run away, leaving King Leonates furious of it all. Kristoff had to admit, but it was good. All the emotion, the costumes, the actors, it was like watching a Broadway show but instead they were out enjoying it while standing and hearing crickets chirp from afar. Anna clasps her two hands together as soon as she finished her ice cream, still all giddy and excited over the little play.

The fourth act begins, and there are words of love exchanged in the air that is, well, kind of. And he knows by heart that the ginger next to him is touched, and he risks a glance down her.

_"—As 'twere, my daughter's eyes: and, to be plain, I think, there is not half a kiss to choose, Who loves another best."_

She's brimming. There are constellations in her eyes. And he guesses that she likes this; free outdoor plays, Shakespeare, love, instead of hating it with a burning passion like how they depicted those late 20 year old maidens in chic flicks always had to bitterly mope about love and find actual love later on.

He peeks at her from the corner of his eyes. The moon crowns her autumn hair with moonlight, her cheeks burn crimson against the stage light, her smile is wide, and her eyes are bright and sad.

_Sad_—he thinks. _She's sad._

And now he is impelled by the urge to do it, either moved by the act or drawn by her beauty.

And with these words, he finds the perfect time to take his beanie off his head and put it on her smaller one, along while wrapping his rugged jacket around her, a soft smile on his face just as she abruptly turns to him, lolling her head to the side quizzically.

"You're cold," he says simply. A small smile tugs on his lips, soft eyes casted at hers refusing to break their gaze.

She touches the jacket swathed around her, her ears hidden in the soft wool of his black beanie, and now Prince Florizel is making proclamations of his love in the dusk and she smiles not because of it, but because of him. Because of Kristoff.

"Maybe," she shrugs playfully, eyes bright. The fourth act is coming to an end and neither of them want it to. He could stand here forever, hearing cheesy lines and ancient stories if it meant being with her. She would stay here forever, basking in his warmth and his existence. She finds the courage to peel her teensy hands away from the rough fabric of his jacket and find his hand at the side of him and locks them together. "But you seem cold too, you know."

"I am not," he said firmly, but melting instantly to her touch and he lets her take his hand. His work worn hands twitch to the sudden contact with her silky skin, cold and yearning for his warmth in the dark. He wants to retort at her remark but her touch sends electricity run along his fingertips and spark his entire body instead. And he gives her a small squeeze in return, blushing before drawing his attention back to the play.

The fourth act is done, and halfway the fifth act, he can't think. His hand involuntarily clutches back at her every now and then, getting sweaty with the dubious fact that she still hasn't let go of him yet. Her hand grows cozier in his, and he's glad. His heart pounds against his ribs and blood rushes to his head and it's her; she's all he could think of now.

_Keep her warm, _he chants to himself. He gives her another tentative squeeze, she squeezes back.

His head swivels back to her.

"Still cold?" he clears his throat as he says so, trying his best to hide the color of his cheeks.

"No," she smiles. "I'm better now, thank you."

"That's great."

There's an awkward ambiance in the air, and neither hear the actors speak now. They're in their own little world, caught in the moment of what to say or do next. To either tuck their hands back in their pockets or continue holding onto each other, Kristoff begins to wonder.

"I mean," Anna stutters suddenly, head jerking up at him. The full light of the stage hits her face and it's hard to even know that she has freckles hidden beneath her mad blush. "I am, I still am."

"_Really_," he deadpans. Cocking an eyebrow at her with a mischievous smile playing on his lips. He doesn't know if she's leading him on now, with all the sudden changes of yeses and no's, he's not sure if she's up to something diabolical or just acting plain cute. "Really, what is it?"

Her head drops guiltily, lower lip caught between her teeth, shyly poking at a rock at her foot with the tip of her right foot. This time, he thinks he said something wrong that made the whole mood of the moment go gone down the drain. Hesitating, he moves his lips to speak but again, she beats him to it.

"…I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand," she confessed.

The play is coming to an end, and Paulina and Camillo are engaged and the whole crowd erupt to their rejoice. And his spirits lift with them. His head is light, his heart is pounding wildly against his ribs and she makes him go weak in the knees because the truth is that he does too. And it's funny, how much he wanted this all along. The actors say their final soliloquy, and he's too spurred in the moment that is Anna to care if the crowd is beginning to disperse into the dark.

But he manages to push the feeling of his chest swelling away, and he finds his voice just before she covers up her sudden confession, and he somehow wants to prolong the moment, her hand in his and his in hers, to hear words of love around them he might not get the chance to tell her, to let his heart beat along the romantic bongo drums, and to be with her here, simply.

He smiled, chuckling. "Yeah, me too."

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**fave, favorites, and reviews are loved~**


	4. Chapter 4: Starry night

**i'm terribly sorry for the long update. our internet was down this weekend, and this is the only time internet is back up in a short while. anywho, enjoy another chapter!**

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Anna has just conjured the most ridiculous ideas in the history of ideas, Kristoff thinks to himself.

Here they were, in the same unnamed park they've been to in the previous night before with sleeping bags under their arms and sweaters hanging over their shoulders looking like a pair of campers finding sanctuary in the obscured place instead of profound tourists that they were supposed to be. He wanted nothing more than to scream how ridiculous this all was, but bit his tongue before he pushes Anna to the edge of tears again like earlier, when she tried to convince him to sleep outside of the hotel in the park and he did nothing more than slap his hand to his head while laughing, and before he could chortle another round of fitting laughter, she was already sniffling, looking small and helpless when he thought it was all so stupid—this was stupid. It came out harsher than he intended to.

_How did I get myself in this mess?_ He thought to himself in the passing moments of silence between them.

They had gone back from Notre Dame, where they both made wishes on Point Zero, where said when you jump on it and make a wish, you'll get a chance to come back there someday again. And for a brief moment there, he felt that he was at the center of the Paris, the heart of it, like what the silly beliefs had said, and for once, he found himself doing something ridiculous such as really making a wish on spot x, before wanting nothing more than to punch his senses back and take a firm grip on his grouchy side again.

_I wish Anna would be happy_, he told himself without waver when he shut his eyes for a beat before letting them fly open to see Anna smiling wide at him, knowing that he really did make a wish. She'd wailed and pressed him to tell her his wish, but kept firing back that it wouldn't come true if he told it. Also, she wouldn't tell hers either. So why tell when she couldn't share hers herself?

Kristoff also knew he shouldn't have agreed to traverse Paris at night the other evening, because it would lead Anna to her curious side again, wanting to feel the slap of the night air on her face again and see the artificial glow of the city once more. And now, he really regrets it. Walking here side by side finding a good place to set up camp in the lone park.

When they found a good spot near the lake, Anna grinned from ear to ear, running to the edge of the lake before turning heels back to him and help setting their sleeping bags and backpacks on the ground. Kristoff sighed.

"Don't even get started, mister," she frowned accusingly at him. He shrugged.

"Just help me set the blanket and we're good."

With their sleeping bags on either side of them, backpacks beside and the blanket spread out on the open, an assortment of snacks and flashlights scattered on the thin piece of cloth, they let themselves relax and sit side by side and listen to the song the crickets sang in the night.

Kristoff pulled out a box of chocolate from his denim backpack.

"Here," he said, shyly poking the box to her lap.

"What's this?" she asked, taking the box and putting it overhead to study the content in the dark, eyes squinted.

"A peace offering," he said and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "You know… after being such a grouch about this whole thing. I bought that a day ago, and thought I'd bring it home without telling you yet, so if you'd ever inhale the chocolates we bought on the plane and forget saving some up before reaching home, I'd have a spare."

"How thoughtful," she laughed, breaking the tension between them. He let himself smile, finally.

Anna had closed in on him back at the hotel, a gloomy face worn when he'd laughed and repeatedly said how he wouldn't do something so ridiculous such as sleep under the stars when they had a hotel to sleep in anyway. When Kristoff noticed what he had done, offended her bucket list that seemed to be the world to her at the moment, he realized his mistake. He hesitated, of course, before giving into her request. Yet instead of seeing her face split a smile or make her pump her fist in the air, she nodded simply and went to gather her things.

She asked cutely for his help, and he promised he would. And in those seconds of depriving her request, he had offended and betrayed her for the slightest moment. And she took it by heart.

But now, her smile is just as wide as it was before, and he felt more than relieved that everything was back the way it was.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he bit his lip in apology, their shoulders barely touching in the dusk. "I didn't mean it…"

"I know you didn't," she scrunched her nose up at him, legs stretched out and hands on her lap. "But before I really do accept your apology, I need you to help me finish one more thing on my check list for the night."

"Me?"

"Yes, you!" she clasped her hands before jumping up on her feet, running around the edge of the hill collecting flowers in her hands leaving him dumbfounded of whatever she was doing now. When she came back, breathing a little harder, cheeks visibly pink in the dark, she plopped down beside him cross legged before scattering her find of flowers in front of them.

"What's up with this?" he asked, watching as she studied each one before making her pick, a pink one to twirl in her finger.

"I'm going to make you a king!" she smiled, and began to weave the flowers all together. He didn't argue, but found himself in tandem with her in stringing the flowers all together before it turned into a mad contest to see who could lace the flowers faster than the other, laughing when they did.

"Here," Anna grinned, sitting on her heels to lean into him to crown him. "Sir Kristoff Bjorgman, I now pronounce thee as The Valiant Pungent Reindeer King."

Kristoff let himself grin at this, feeling relief and something warm buzz inside of him at her statement. Somehow, he knew she still remembered his costume from twelve Halloweens ago, a reindeer jumpsuit that made him look like the silly dork that he was until now. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Okay then, Smarty-pants," he said as he was titled with a crown of daisies and greens on his head before leaning over her too, his shadow towering over her small frame. "Then I officially crown you, Ms. Anna Arendelle, as Queen of all things feisty and the epitome of all things sweet, fluffy and good."

Only then did it hit him, that he was king and she was queen, and it seemed to register to her too, obvious with the blush spreading over her cheeks when he had crowned his more scattered flower crown on top of her head before sitting cross legged on his own, blushing back wishing the dark would hide his chagrin.

After an exchange of royal statements, she scooted closer to him, shoulders bumping, knees touching before putting their titles to rest, bewitched by the late hour. She had wrapped herself in her wool sweater, knees pulled to her chest making her look smaller than she already is, and looking up to the sky, where darkness was no more than the dark blue earlier but complete and total blackness above them. He turns to look up too.

Out here, in the night, away from the high up buildings and artificial glow of the city, the stars began to pop and reveal themselves in this rare moment, usually hidden by the city's lights and drowned by the serene music played by bystanders. They were scattered above them, glow after glow, light after light, constellation to constellation, giving the moment a magical feel to it. Both couldn't help but smile.

"Its beautiful," Anna smiled, breathless with wonder. Her eyes, a sea of blue, reflected the dark and the stars in them, like a mirror only Kristoff could see himself. The blue balanced the fire in her hair, and he found himself grinning like a dork.

"Yeah," he nodded, refusing to break his gaze from the sky. Worry that someone or wandering police would find them was far off from his collection of thoughts now. "This is rare, never thought I'd see something like this in Paris. I thought it was all buildings and cathedrals… never something so natural and true. I'm glad we went out here."

"Told you," she stuck her tongue out at him. He put his hands up in surrender, laughing. "I was right!"

"Yeah, you were right. Got me there, feisty-pants."

When the hours have stretched and turned into late talks about themselves, about Elsa and Sven, about music and hockey, a small argument about which was better black coffee or chocolate mixed coffee, and about home, Kristoff found Anna's head slowly tipping to the side, languid and hanging just centimeters away from his broad and slowly growing stiff shoulder.

Finally, she had given into the calm surrender, head and weight against him, warm and real. He hesitated for a moment, realizing he wasn't really that sleepy, but relaxed when she spoke in her near sleep.

"I'm glad we came…" her voice trailed, chest heaving in and out in a relaxing pace, and he knows by heart that she has fallen asleep against him without really the need for their packed sleeping bags. Knowing another wish had been crossed out on her bucket list, he smiles fondly but mostly because of her.

With Paris asleep, except for the distant music of crickets and bongo drums somewhere far off, he finds himself wondering what Anna wished for at the heart of Paris earlier. But it didn't matter, not now, not when his wish was coming true.

_I just want Anna to be happy_, he relieved himself of his wish, even if it meant the world against them or him losing her, it was only a matter of care for one person to wish them the best, and he realizes he never really did care much about himself, but it was all about her.

And with each pace of breath, each fidget of her fingers or twitch of her knee, every flutter of her eyes, he knows she's happy. And so is he.

"Yeah, me too," he said, but she'd already drifted into a peaceful sleep. Mostly said to him self and to the stars who were in witness of his moment of softness. Again, his heart beats hard against his chest, moon illuminating the dorky smile on his face.

They were not in Notre Dame, or at the heart of Paris, but he felt that he was at the center of the universe, with the sea of stars watching overhead, galaxies whispering nothings about them, a bed of flowers beneath them and being with her here, simply, was enough.

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**review? more fluff next chapter, til then!**


	5. Chapter 5: Rain on Me

**let's celebrate because i've been able to update on time *fireworks display in a distance*. anyway, this is really great and sad at the same time to say that this short series is about to come to an end. this is the second to the last chapter, and i hope you would all gladly finish it! this short series was fun to write, as well as a great way to grind me back to continue my other series. so, an anon said i've stopped writing To Rise With A Star, no, i have not forgotten or given up on the story. as of currently, i'm just a bit stuck on some parts of it, and hopefully i'll be able to finish it and polish my writing. and it the same goes for The Winter Thief, i'm a bit shaken and please remember that i too have a life out of writting and fandoms, and i'm currently trying to survive high school. but i do try to write whenever i can, and hopefully there will be updates some time soon!**

**long a/n, i know. anyway, enjoy!**

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Kristoff already helped Anna finish up most of what's jot down on her little notebook; Indulging in the Parisian life, visit Shakespeare and Company, and watch a movie in one of the rackety theatres in town. Some were better than the others, some were fine, and others, like this, were completely and utterly insane in his eyes.

"Okay, okay," Anna mumbled, eyes squinted as if looking directly at the sun on her little notebook. She tapped a thin finger on its page.

"Next, we need to roll over daisies," she said ever so casually, looking up to see Kristoff's reaction. He wasn't so happy about it.

"But Anna—" he groaned. One thing was sure during the whole trip: He's been such a grouch. Well, he always has been. But he had to admit, he's been extra con throughout the whole trip. Sarcastic eye rolls, momentary shake of the head, face palms every now and then, and if his mouth isn't releasing a tired sigh it'd be gaping at her with a look of disbelief on his face. And miraculously, Anna seems to brush this off every time and drag him around anyway. "Where on earth do you think we'd be allowed to play in dirt? We'd get caught, and worse—jailed!"

"Don't exaggerate! They won't throw us in jail that easily for a minor offense." she rolled her eyes at him before mumbling. "…and it's Parisian jail."

"_Still_ jail." He deadpanned.

"Oh, come on no one has to see," she pouted back before she slammed the small notebook shut. "Plus, it'll be fun. The sun on our cheeks, flowers in our hair—"

"—Bugs in our shoes, shirts getting soiled…" he grumbled back.

"Kristoff!" she smacked his chest. "I'm so close to completing it now just…" her eyebrows suddenly raised and she pursed her lips stopping to think. "It's only less than fifteen more left. And I think I could really finish this, you know… here, in Paris? And it's our last three days here in Paris, can you at least help me finish this?"

His hand seemed to have a mind of its own and he slapped it along his square jaw. "This is ridiculous."

"This is crucial, Kris. Come on, live a little! And maybe rolling along daisies would drown out your pungent smell," she teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

He didn't feel a bit offended with her words, but wanted nothing more than get things over with and grab lunch. He sighed, throwing his head back in defeat to see the sky filled with gray clouds stretching all over the city. When they left in the morning, the sun was shinning bright as ever, hot on his face, and now he doubts the sun would be on his cheeks when they go rolling in daisies in a minute.

"…fine."

"Yay!"

At the least she didn't write anything as ridiculous as swimming with sharks or taking a shot of spontaneous combustion, right?

When they found a good spot, as small hill popping daisies on its side leading down to the foot of the lake, they huddled to an obscured scene behind park benches and towering trees. Anna had to take the time to breathe in the flowers and greet the birds like a Disney princess, which made Kristoff's eye roll and drag her away by the arm from her little innocent acts of kindness.

She went first, of course, giggling profusely before curling into a ball and turning to him to tell him to do the same, and he does, and began their pursuit to finish her little request. She threw her arms over her head and screamed like she's riding a rollercoaster and she's off, rolling, tumbling to the flat ground, Kristoff not so far behind. The world spins for a moment, a few bumps along the way, yet he found that it was tolerable. When earth's gravitational pull stops them flat, Anna turns her head to look at him, cheeks smeared with dirt, hair ornamented with flowers, sticking out in weird directions. She laughed to see him so decorated, and he gives in to her, letting out a chuckle or two too.

They stay like this for a beat, watching the clouds roll by, the bees buzz by, breathing in each other's scent. He breaks their mild stupor before he finds himself leaning against her in hopes for a kiss.

Jumping up, he brushed his jeans off, before stretching a hand down to help her up.

"See? Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" she smirked, wiping her nose with her arm and giggling. "You had fun! I could tell!"

"No, I didn't."

"Yes you did! You were all smiles and sunshine for once, isn't that great?"

"Again, no. I was laughing because you looked silly with a smudge of dirt on your face," She stuck her tongue out at him, but before she could even retort a better come back, something stops her: a raindrop.

It wets her cheek, dribbles down her face to her jaw, making her blink several times, catching her in shock. Kristoff cranes his neck to look up the sky, Anna does too to see a sea of dark clouds stretching across Paris, giving the city a gloomy ambiance. Slowly, more raindrops fall before the two finally bolted out of the open, arms over their heads, heads ducked, bags squeezed under arms with the short realization that they didn't bring an umbrella.

"Tell me again why on earth didn't we bring an umbrella to this trip?!" Kristoff spat in disbelief as he jogged, head swiveling to the ginger scampering beside him.

"Uh, forecasts that said Paris would be all suns and smiles for the next three weeks?" Anna shrugged as they reached the shade of a bushy tree, shoulders and backs slamming on its bark with the velocity of sudden contact, and just as they did the rain fully began to drench the city fully, the sound of the rain meeting the earth filled around them.

"Obviously, their predictions were wrong," he exhaled, slightly out of breath. "Should've foresaw this and brought an umbrella," he said and he shook his head.

They stood under the shade of the tree for a full five minutes, watching as the downpour began to damp the earth, soiling the ground wet, the water in the lake rising, other people protectively seizing their arms overhead to shield their flimsy suits and dresses from the rain, and as the whole of Paris turnover into a moment of stillness with the humidity in the air washed away. Anna had rested her back against the bark, minute by minute inching to the ground, and when her bottom hit the ground she hugged herself, shivering slightly.

"You cold?" Kristoff asked, hands bunched in his jeans. She shook her head no.

"No, just tired," she answered, nose tucked under her arms. Her lips stretched into a grim line before speaking up again. "It's taking forever to pull up. Do you think it'll ever stop?"

"Patience, feisty-pants," he smirked, yet his eyes were still trained somewhere far off in no particular place at all. "Just you wait. It's unusual for it to rain, but hey, maybe it'll be over in a few."

They waited and waited, until a full ten minutes Anna shot up from her fetus position to a standing, before announcing confidently: "That's it, let's just go."

"What?" Kristoff turned to give her a weird look.

She only gave him a mischievous smile before slipping out of her doll shoes, hanging it on the end of her fingertips, huffed out a breath and seizing into the rain.

"What the—Anna!" he shouted for her, but she had already disappeared into the mist and the pelting rain, leaving him dumbfounded as ever. Frantically stepping from foot to foot, Kristoff could think of nothing else but 'Screw it!' and ran after her, worried and half cursing as he went.

The ginger barely made it out to the park bench, no other sign of shelter or shade out in the open, before the burly man had caught up on her and held her wrist, jerking her hard to face him.

"Anna!" he breathed, a little harder than normal. The look of disbelief still plastered on his face. "What the hell? Have you lost your noggin? You could've tripped! Or fell flat on your face. Hurry, we need to get back to the tree you before you catch a cold—"

"Kristoff!" Anna laughed, in her singsong voice Kristoff hated being used on him in an urgent moment, she _knew_ how much her melodic voice could make him weak in the knees itself. Stepping forward, she seized one hand to run up his chest, other wrist still clamped on his shaking calloused hand. "I'm fine, really! This is actually in my bucket list but I didn't expect the opportunity to open up in front of me here in Paris…"

"And what exactly is this now?" he asked with a half groan, one eyebrow high up. The rain began to damp their heads, hairs a mop, clothes drenched. The rain was pounding an uneven sound in his ear, but he could hear the beat, a music, a melody he was certain of.

She didn't answer, but instead, seized soothing hands to both of his, placed one on her hip and held tight into the other, and took a confident step. He gaped at her at first, watching as she took steps, one after another, before it truly hit him that she was actually _dancing_.

And he was too. Each step she took, he would be parallel to it, forming their own little rhythm to the thumping sound of the water, and it took a longer moment for him to register that he's letting her lead him on, his body responding to hers in perfect sync.

What surprised him, was, how it all felt so natural altogether. He was never the dancer, nor was she. He remembered distinctly failing dance class in high school and seeing Anna fall flat on her face in one of Elsa's parties a year ago, but now, as if being controlled like a puppet, _he's really dancing. He's dancing with Anna._

"A-are we—"

"Dancing," she laughed, making it sound easy. "We're dancing, Kris!"

All he could do was gape with a _wow_ on his face. She laughed.

There was a few exchange of apologies and shy giggles every now and then, whenever she'd accidentally step on his big feet or when he'd twist her arms a little too much, but they couldn't help wiping the large smiles they wore or the glint of jubilee in their eyes.

He felt light on his feet, buoyant and she was his wings. He couldn't believe it himself, and before he knew it he was twirling her in one hand, her skirt flying as she spiraled, before he caught both her arms now and she crashes into his chest, smile so wide her freckles glowed and her eyes shone a different kind of glimmer in the rain.

Suddenly, the world stops. There are sparks in their eyes, breathless, fazed, the beating in their chest one, a whole new feeling felt in each others arms.

And there, it hits him.

_I… I love—_

"You," she laughs, a carefree sound in the rain.

His heart thunders in his chest again, and all of his senses hits him with the truth.

"You're a lot lighter on your feet, mister," Anna laughed, and only then did he register how close their face was, her breath tickling his skin.

"You too, feisty-pants," he grinned back, bracing himself with their closed space. "Care to take another spin so that I'm positively sure this isn't a dream?"

"Ah, a doubter, I see," she giggled, before stepping far enough for their dancing stance, giving him a saucy curtsy before flashing him a playful grin. "Prepare yourself for my mad dance skills, I'mma knock your socks off," she winked.

"Says the one with two left feet," he guffawed, and she growled and laughed along with him.

And all afternoon, all while it rained, they danced secure in each other's arms between tumbles and laughs, ignoring the thoughts of those who watched afar, thinking they were insane.

But the thing is, they just couldn't hear the music the way they did.

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**...aaaand the long awaited scene and a hopeful spark of a relationship happens next chapter! stay tuned for the last one and thanks again!**

**review?**


	6. Chapter 6: Home

**and here is the last chapter of this mini Kristanna series. it's honestly been so fun to write this, especially because i've always loved travel and found that bucket lists were kinda fun, right? i know this story does have its flaws, but i'd like to say thank you to everyone who cared and read through this. may not be the best, but as time passes, i hope to continue writing to get better, and when i do i can confidently post better fics for my fandoms in the future. still, thank you to everyone who continuously supports me. it means so much.**

**now, for the last chapter i guess some of you have already known but... it's the famous Disney AU for Kristanna! it's been years since i last visited Disneyland... but hopefully you'll still like it, enjoy!**

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"ANNA!"

Kristoff called out to the ginger who stomped her foot loudly away from him, red-faced. Still refusing to look into his honey-glazed eyes. He seized a calloused hand to reach out to her, bumping into a kid with Mickey Mouse ears as he did forget his manners to apologize as he did.

Catching her small wrists in his hand, she tried to yank her arm back protectively.

"Let go of me!" she yelled back, glassy-eyed as she stared at his one hand coiling at her small wrists with ease, refusing to meet his accusing eyes.

"Anna," he breathed, calmer now, trying to keep his eyes in level with hers even in the dark. The artificial glow of the ornamented streetlamps made his blonde hair gleam darker than its usual color, barely hearing his own breath as a sea of characters and people passed by them animatedly, hardly noticing the two young adults in the middle of a troubling quarrel.

She looked up.

Her lip was caught between her teeth, and she bit on it nervously and obviously guiltily, head still down, eyes glued to his big shoes. In the dark, the blush coating her cheeks swelled even more, and her glassy eyes shone in the dark. His heart fell for the slightest moment and almost made him loosen his grip on her and let her slip away again, but he stood his ground.

How did they end up like this?

The distant voice of Mickey Mouse starts talking from a distance, and the people around them swiveled their heads to see the start of the event, hushed tones silenced except for the wild beating of their hearts.

Right. Disneyland.

It was the least place he wanted to be on earth, but miraculously Anna was able to pull him inside the overly decorated theme park. With its rollercoasters that sent him to have a glimpse of hell every time, spinning teacups that made his stomach lurch, and the watchtowers that made him queasy every single time. It was heaven to the kids and their accompanied parents, especially Anna with her head crowned with Mickey Mouse ears she'd bought as well as buying one for him, Mickey Mouse ones, of course.

It made him red in the face when she thrust the ear band on his chest back in front of Big Thunder Mountain, a few face characters watching them from a distance in amusement. Wearing couple band were a thing, of course, well, for _couples_. And he had to stare at the headband slack jawed in front of all the people, Anna mimicking his blush when he snapped out of it after a good full minute.

But she didn't make any advances like they were in a relationship from there on, casually tugging on his arm or laughing her head off was something completely normal for the two of them now. But after then, she kept a safe distance, and it made Kristoff anxious if it was about the little incident back at Big Thunder Mountain or if his pungent smell was kicking in.

When the sun blazed from the heavens at exactly 12pm after they took a photo with Hercules and Megara, Anna turned to him.

"Say," she drawled out, eyes rolling around a bit before catching his look. "Since this is our last stop in Paris and we're heading back home tomorrow… would you mind helping me finish a few more from my bucket list?"

He scratched his head. "Sure, I guess. Do you want to get lunch first or finish it right now?"

"Hm," she nodded, arms folding in front of her. "Would you like sandwiches or carrot soup?"

"Carrot soup sounds good to me," he grinned.

After grabbing lunch at Café Mickey, taking few more photos of attractions and face characters they crossed paths with, they started out on Anna's bucket list, much to Kristoff's distress.

He felt partly relieved that there was only about five left in her list, and it was as easy as balancing a rotten tomato on his crooked nose.

By 2 in the afternoon, granting her wish of dancing with a Disney Princess and buying Elsa more souvenirs, she stirred to face him.

"Okay, next up, I want a kiss!" Anna clapped the small notebook gleefully into one hand. Instantly, Kristoff blushed.

"W-What—"

"—from a French boy, aren't they just adorable? I mean, I know they're just kids but they're all so adorable!" Kristoff's heart stopped abruptly, and he tried to collect his breath after the mild heart attack he had. As long as it was a kid 8 and below, he could manage seeing some boy peck Anna's cheek in front of him.

Waving down two French siblings, they turned to loll their heads at them incredulously. One of them, a French kid Kristoff estimated between the age of 6 or 7, watched Anna babble out her explanation with a dreamy face, almost making him think twice about making the little scoundrel kiss her. The other, his companion, he guessed was his sister. At the range of 20, wearing thin clothing and blonde hair pulled up in a tight ponytail in the back of her head watched the two of them in amusement.

Finishing, Anna clapped her hands together, rather awkwardly.

"So," she gave a hopeful smile. "You guys cool with it?"

"Totally!" the little boy perked, words heavily accented. _Lucky sucker_, Kristoff thought with fists tightly clenched on either side of him.

His sister shrugged an okay, eyes flicking between the two of them. Anna cried out a _hooray_ before dropping down on a squat position and closed her eyes, and slowly, the little boy gave her a peck on her pink cheek.

Blushing, the little boy smiled shyly. "You're very pretty, lady."

Anna glowed, patting him on the head. "Thank you, and thanks too. It means a lot."

She jumped up straighter, Kristoff and the little boy's companion did nothing but watch the whole event in the while to be snapped out of their stupor once he tugged on his sister's arm.

Looking satisfied, his sister looked up to them.

"Thank you, that was my brother's first unofficial kiss—"

"Hey!" the boy snapped.

"—and he seems to have liked it, thank you for the experience," she gave a little bow, the made the two young adults return. "I hope you finish your bucket list, I wish we could do something else to help."

"Oh, no," Anna said knowingly. "You've been help enough already! Some may think it's silly—"

"Which it is," grumbled Kristoff that earned him a smack on the chest.

"—but having another list getting crossed out is help enough, so, thank you!" she chirped, beaming brighter than ever.

The lean blonde seemed unsatisfied, eyes darting back and forth to the both of them, before shrugging and nodding, finally. "Okay, but in that case…"

She leaned in towards Kristoff, and much to Anna's surprise—

She kissed him. On the cheek.

Well, it seemed like it. Anna stifled a gasp between her fingers, clamping a hand to her mouth. From where she stood, it looked like she was kissing him, but on another perspective, she was actually whispering something into his ear and it made a wild blush coat his cheeks in an instant. Anna couldn't hide her surprise, catching her slack jawed, making the little French boy chuckle lightly.

The blonde then stood up straighter in a beat, nodding and thanking them again. "Well, see you around. And good luck," she winked, dragging her younger brother who waved back at them with a wide smile on his face.

Anna's jaw was still unhinged when Kristoff turned to her as they watched the two disappear into the crowd.

He cleared his throat, willing the blush away. "Well? What's next?"

Anna faced him in disbelief, shocked with his nonchalant face. "What's next? You're seriously asking me what's next?"

There was an underside in her tone that sounded like a mix of anger and sarcasm, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Sure, you must be _really_ excited about the next one too, huh?" she puffed her cheeks out, eyes rolling before turning on her heel and away from him. "Well guess what, I'm not."

And just like that, she was engulfed into a sea of clamoring people.

Kristoff was left in the middle of the bustling street, dumbfounded, before letting the words 'What the hell?!' slip out of his mouth absently.

It took him the whole afternoon to look for Anna, passing Star Tours, running across Pirates' Beach, and almost tripping over face characters that swarmed the area . His shirt was damp with sweat now, sticking on his back and his bangs were matted with sweat as well as he sprint all through out the entire theme park in search for her. He even sent over 64 messages asking for her, and 21 calls she refused to answer in one afternoon that stretched into an early evening.

But just as he slowed, breathless and barely feeling his slowly growing numb legs, he remembers a large event scheduled at 8 in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, and he spots her crisp hair bobbing along the crowd and her fresh green summer dress that made all the other colors of other peoples clothing seem dull against her sun. She looked disoriented, face sunken with grief looking lost in the middle of the jostling crowd, like she was just waiting to be rescued.

He didn't have to think twice.

"ANNA!"

And now he finds himself breathless in front of her, his heart pounding in his ears, brows creased in worry, barely materializing what was really happening to them.

Anna tried to wiggle out of his tight grasp, tears threatening to stream out.

"Let go of me, please," she whimpered, desperately trying to loosen his grip on her wrist and failing miserably. Her voice cracked in the middle of the mass of people, still no one seemed to notice them.

"Anna," he breathed again, slightly shaking his head as he let go, only to step closer toward her to tower over her small frame to block her from anyone else noticing her crestfallen state. "Anna, what's wrong? But really what the hell I don't understand what's happening, is there something I did? Something I said? Please, tell me. And I'm sorry, for whatever's the reason."

His words were sincere, ghosting over her forehead in the dark. She felt a blush shinny up her neck, snapping her head away from where he could see, hoping the dark and the ill-lit streetlamps would hide her embarrassment.

"Nothing…" he barely heard her mumbling, but pressed on. It wasn't like Anna to cry over things so easily. There was always a reason. From cute puppies to cliché romance movies, or a fight with her sister or a broken heart, he knew she was a strong girl. But he knew she was also fragile behind her too wide smile, and it broke his heart to watch her like this, holding herself together in front of him because of something _he's_ done.

He wanted to punch the nearest lamppost down.

"Anna, tell me, please! How do you think we're going to solve this if you don't tell me?!"

"There's nothing to solve, Kris!" she blurted crossly and stubbornly pouting her lips.

"Anna, please just—"

"Then why don't you just go back and make kissy faces with the blonde French girl again, huh?" she spat, this time, turning to meet his gaze. His mouth dropped.

It took a few seconds for her words to reboot inside his racked brain, and when it does, it splits his face into a smile and laughter rumbled in his chest as he slapped a hand on his face.

"What? What's so funny? Hey!" Anna couldn't hide the ripening blush on her cheeks, her face red as a tomato, feeling sillier and sillier by the minute.

"Anna, please don't tell me you were…" Kristoff caught his breath, the hand that he used absently slap his face suddenly falling on top of her bony shoulder, pulling her close. "…jealous?"

There was a hint of hope in his voice, but her reaction was better than what he'd expected.

Anna's face flushed darker red more than he thought she would and he worried slightly that her head would explode. Her frustration doubled, flutteringly fidgeting now as he breathed in her scent.

"W-What? What do you mean?" she babbled, twisting her hands together, eyes finding a safe spot to land on, anything but his eyes that watched her amusingly. "Hah! 'Course she was pretty, and all googly eyes over you, and I don't even know if you like her and she just kissed you there and you seemed pretty happy and—"

"Whoa, whoa," he put a hand up. A firecracker shot overhead, the event had begun and was going underway, but he was too immersed in Anna's anxieties to care. "Hold up. Like? Kiss? What's gotten into you, feisty-pants? What made you think she kissed me?"

Her jaw dropped, just a bit. "You… you mean she didn't kiss you?"

Finally, in a long while, he let out a laugh. "No! Goodness, no Anna! I'd never kiss a stranger. No matter how pretty or desperate some may get."

"But I saw her kiss you on the cheek right there—"

He laughed again. "She whispered something to me! Anna, you're overdoing yourself over this."

Now Anna wanted nothing more than to disappear into thin air. Right, maybe she could run now and book a ticket to Japan rather than back home and change her name to Miriam and they'd never engage in a discourse about this fitting embarrassing event when they went to Paris. Yep, it was a plan.

But she would be lying if she said she wasn't relieved to know his lips were still virgin.

"Oh," she breathed, holding back her palm from slapping it on her forehead. "I—I didn't—but wow, really?"

"Really," he assured, smiling wider than ever. He padded his foot on the ground, suddenly unstable.

It hit her there, how close they really were suddenly. Her consciousness finally wrapped around her hazed brain, his warmth bringing her back to earth. His large frame towered over her smaller one, but the array of fireworks display fired above them, booming, lighting, fazing above them, just like in cheesy Disney movies. It lit color in their eyes, changing from hue of sky blue to neon green, and all other colors they only found within each other's eyes in each spark. They watched each other so intensely, as if there was nothing and nobody else around.

Kristoff's breathing slowed, so did Anna's. Arms turning to jelly, knees wobbling, drawing in shaky breaths with hearts banging wildly against their ribs just bursting to beat out. And there, it hit them.

"Anna," Kristoff breathed, barely there. "I'd never kiss just anyone. Never did, actually. You know me. And… can I ask you something? And please, answer me frankly. Were you really… jealous?"

She hesitated for a moment, mouth involuntarily quivering in an open and close motion, before tumbling out her words.

"Yes," she quacked. "She was… all over you, and I couldn't hold back…"

"Anna!" Kristoff couldn't hold back the smile that stretched across his face. The skies were being painted with fireworks, children watching with amazing amusement, like it itself was a magical memory to treasure. But the two young adults that stood amongst the crowd were engulfed in their own magic. "I never loved anyone other than…" he drew in a breath. "You."

Butterflies swarmed Anna's stomach, a fuzzy feeling trapped in her chest, caught her breath, eyes suddenly lit up to his words. An intense feeling washed over her, something that always did flow through her when she was with him, only now, stronger.

"And when I lost you back there… I thought it was going to be the death of me," he said, sincerely. She took in a sharp breath. "Look, no matter how many times you try to get lost, with or without a place to head to, intentionally or not, I'll find you, okay? I'll always find you, Anna. No matter what."

She stood there, taking in huge breaths of air, a sudden need in the catastrophe that was them. She wanted to return his sudden burst of brazen love but his words alone made her throat swell hotly and she too was lost for words.

"Don't you see? My wallpaper, your cold hands, Notre Dame, the dance—You're everything to me, Anna. All this time. And every day every hour every minute… I wish you were mine."

She had to take a beat to refill her lungs with air, suddenly exasperated as she reminded herself to breathe. Slowly, a smile surfaced her doll face. The eternal summer that permeated through her veins coming to life once more.

"But I'm already yours, Kristoff," she smiled, still misty-eyed. Relief has engulfed her, her head light, her words a song, a melody resonating in his ears. All his anxieties are washed away, his pungent smell, his too big feet, his fear of loving her, hurting her and her fragile heart, but her smile is reassuring. And the message that she's more than okay sends relief spark inside of him. And he has to lean in closer to hear her over the drumming of his heart so wildly against his chest he has to will it not to jump up his throat. "Always was, always will."

And there, the fireworks display is coming to an end, but the moment and their feelings stretch out and they felt infinite, right there.

Kristoff couldn't hold back any longer.

"I could just kiss you," he blurted, suddenly shy. Blushing, he moved a hand to the back of his head, rubbing awkwardly trying to hold back the urge to just spin her in the air like the princess that she is. "I mean, may I? May we? Me we? Wait—what?"

Anna's soft lips on his cheek abruptly stops him from blabbering on intelligible words than came next, and when he looked down to meet her sea of eyes after she'd stood back on her heels again, her smile only broadened, more genuine than any smile she ever wore.

"We may."

That was all he needed. Kristoff stepped in closer to her and stooped down to her level, his lips crashing down on her plush ones, tender yet firm, a shot of electricity spreading inside them as their lips met. His hand perfectly fit her small waists, her arms looping over his neck to pull him in closer and as she moves in closer to him, he maps the radiating freckles on her cheek, the column of her collarbone, the length of her lashes, _her_. She was fire, and he was nothing more but a matchstick that she ignited with her touch.

There was countless emotions vibrating in their heads and bursting in their chests, relief, comfort, tenderness—_love_. Hearts clenched in their ribs, they had to remind themselves to breathe, and for a fraction of a second, they made a silent wish in their hearts that this moment would never, ever end.

With the need for air became great, they pulled away breathlessly, stars in their eyes.

Anna cracked a grin. "Wait till Elsa hears this."

"Funny, the girl earlier did tell me that we made such a good couple."

She blinked. "Is that why you blushed?"

Kristoff's eyes glazed with love softened. "Maybe."

They laughed, his arms still wrapped around her waists only to pull her closer, almost lifting her from the ground. He bonked his with hers, doing the cute little forehead bump at the end of every cliché romance movies they watched together all the time back home.

Artificial lights illuminated the smiles on their faces that stretched infinitely, fireworks showering the sky drowning out the faint glow of the stars, a mass of people continuously bumping into them, still, the world ceased to exist, and it was only them wrapped in a tight embrace, in their own little game, their own little world.

They were home.

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**...and here it ends. again, thank you for reading and supporting, and here you may give this story one last feedback. i'm so happy to finish this mini series, and i'm going back to writing my other series and planned one-shots now! it really does feel amazing to finish a series, and again, thank you from the depths of my heart.**

**until next time. ciao!**


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